


The Rebel Prince, or How the God of Mischief Came Back into My Life

by jbmae17



Series: Loki and Lyssa [2]
Category: Loki - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-06-17 08:44:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15457569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jbmae17/pseuds/jbmae17
Summary: What happened between Loki and Lyssa after events of Thor: The Dark World. Written before Thor: Ragnarok, so Loki's kids are Loki's kids. Sorry, Taika.





	1. Chapter One

The way I see it, the chances of - 

_meeting an alien hot enough to fuck repeatedly, maybe 1:1,000,000,000,000,000,000_

_being so distracted by that you forget about birth control, 1:1_

_having your OB/GYN hand you a psych referral when you seriously ask if the thing in the ultrasound is human, 1:1000_

 

Don't get me wrong, Harry's a good kid, and not a wolf or a snake or a horse, so there's that. He toddles around on two legs, black hair unable to be tamed and big green eyes constantly looking at me like I'm an idiot, just like his dad. He's got ten fingers and ten toes and his own S.H.I.E.L.D. file.

I was barely out of the drugs when they appeared around my hospital bed, a half dozen of them filing in, one carrying flowers and the last closing the door discreetly behind him.

“It's just a precaution,” they said and even though I couldn't feel my legs, I was ready to jump up and deck anyone who came near the little plastic bassinet at my side. “You must understand that.”

“You think my son- who is hours old by the way, is going to steal an alien power source while I'm not looking? Is he going to command an army? Do you think he can kill? He can't even lift his head.”

“Alyssa, he's not exactly an average newborn,” the agent informed me, as if I hadn't known. “We're not positive what he'll be able to do.” He was blandly handsome, thinning hair pasted tight to his skull. The smile he gave while telling me my child was a possible threat to the universe was not reassuring. “His father is ruthless.”

“We are not on a first name basis here, Agent,” I answered. “You are talking about my son. Unless you know of a way...” I couldn't say his name out loud, not now. “I am raising this kid on my own. I don't know any magic. I can't get the nurses to bring me grape juice instead of apple juice, so I'm not going to be summoning anything across the galaxies. By hanging around me, you're only going to bring unwanted attention to an innocent little boy who had nothing to do with the Battle of New York, who wasn't even the size of a popcorn kernel then. I didn't know about him, so his father certainly didn't know about him.” I raised my arm enough to show the scar from the last time they had me detained. “Threaten me, but if you touch him I'll show you ruthless.” 

And they backed off to a shadow presence and we've lived our quiet little life. Harry was never going to be a burden to me. How could he be? He was the best memento of a crazy week. He was the center of my universe, and that universe was pretty vast.

When the cowboy walked through the door of Carmen's Cantina late in the afternoon, I knew there was going to be trouble. He made a line for an empty table next to the one I was serving and sat down, long legs spread wide, feet flat on the floor. I felt his eyes waiting to connect with mine as I set down the plates off my tray and assured Doris and Fred that the next batch of chips straight out of the fryer would be theirs.

“What can I get you?” I asked, not taking too close a look at him. He wanted attention and I wasn't willing to give it to him. 

“When are you done for today?”

“Not until well after you've left,” I answered. Maybe one day I'd get tired of sleeping in a cold bed. Sometimes I'd let myself wonder with men like this- tanned and blonde, muscled and any other feature that was the opposite of Loki, but I hadn't yet felt the need to let thought become action.

“I can wait,” he said. Buttery curls glowed under the edge of his hat and his shirt fit tight to his body, tucked into equally snug jeans. In another life, I'd be on that before the door swung shut behind us. Now I just wanted him to place his order so I could get back to refilling the ketchup bottles.

“The only man I'm going home with is sitting right there.”

I tilted my head over to where Harry was contentedly playing on the floor by the jukebox. Mabel was rolling a ball to him and he was stopping it and rolling it back. They were very focused on their game. The regulars had never questioned Harry's inclusion to our little family. They bounced him on their knees as they watched television and held him on idling motorcycles to lull him to sleep. His nickname was “The Little Crocodile” because he refused to wear anything that wasn't green. And he liked to bite.

The man opened his mouth to speak but failed to produce a sound. His eyes remained fixed on my son as his brow furrowed. “He is your child?” he asked at last.

Thank God the existence of Harry scared off most men. It made my job a lot easier. Still, I was defensive. “I thought that was implied.”

“And his father?”

“He was in prison.” It had been true, and nothing to make anyone think twice around here. “Then he died.”

Dr. Erik Selvig may be a brilliant man, but he also could run his mouth. During an interview about his part in quelling the Dark Elves' attempted conquest of all worlds, he let it slip that Loki had been killed. Though no official confirmation was released, there was a lot of positive reaction to the news, especially in New York. I had to keep myself together for Harry's sake, but the clouds were not going to lift any time soon. 

“Surely you need a little amusement after a long day?”

Fuck, this guy was persistent. I gave a nod to Chuck behind the bar to key him in that I might need some help. “My amusement will come from sitting in the tub with my little boy, watching him blow tracks through the bubbles. Then we'll read some stories about his... favorite mythological characters before he goes to bed.”

“I'm envious. You do look magnificent right out of the bath,” he said.

Drops of ketchup fell to the table like snakebit blood.

“If you're some kind of stalker, I know at least a half-dozen people here are armed, including a very upstanding police officer who will agree that anything done to you was in self-defense.”

The cowboy smiled in a way that made me remember the feel of the road under four wheels and desert air through the car windows. “Lyssa, you're my ally, remember? I've seen through your mask. I can't believe you'd want to harm me after you risked so much to keep me safe.”

The name that I kept to myself, that I spoke aloud only on the darkest of nights hoping again for a response, slipped past my lips.

“Loki?”

 

*-*-*


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki meets Harry.

The cowboy smiled as I whispered the name.

“I did have some hope you'd gain a little wisdom in my absence. Perhaps I was too ambitious.”

That was Loki, all right, sitting right there in front of me with a smirk as if the last time I saw him hadn't been a blurry photo posted online over two years ago- muzzled and cuffed, headed off to an unknown fate. 

I stepped away from the table and walked back to the bar. Chuck ducked down to read my face as he handed over the steaming basket of tortilla chips. 

“Everything all right there, Lyss? You need me to discourage him?”

I lifted my head and stared blankly for a moment before pasting over my shock. “Nothing I can't handle.” 

Back along the wall, Fred and Doris were looking back eagerly at us and the trickster drummed his long fingers on the scarred tabletop, taking in the crowd, most likely enjoying the realization that no one knew he had been there before. On the other side of the room, Harry had given up on the ball. He scampered out of Mabel's reach and climbed up on a chair to search for me. Before I could catch his eye though, he found Loki. The aliens stared each other down. Loki's head tilted in curiosity as a huge grin spread across Harry's face and he leapt from the chair to race over. He barely made two steps before he was scooped up by Tex who swung him around and tucked him under his arm as they made their way back to the jukebox. Just as well. Now wasn't the time to introduce them.

Loki accepted the bottle I set down in front of him. “For appearances,” I said. “I'll cover it.”

“This means you're expecting me to act like I want to stay.”

“You're always eager to move on.” That truth felt like the first steady thing I could hold on to. As much as I wanted to pull him up from the table and wrap my arms around him, I didn't know why he was here. This may be all I could get. “I didn't ask you to come here,” I added, even though I had, in weaker moments, all alone in the safety of my thoughts.

“Would you rather I depart?” I fought my urge to be contrary, to tell him to go just to spite him. Loki's eyes darted over to Harry again, dancing on a table. “I could arrive at your home later.” 

“I've got people watching me- friends of those who were on us back then. You'd have to be careful. Maybe you should wait for me. It would be less suspicious than if a stranger just walked up to the door.”

“Do you regularly take men home with you?” His hand gripped the beer and I saw frost spread across the glass.

I owed him nothing, so I didn't answer. “The more people who see you with me like this, the better, even if every world thinks you're dead.” 

Loki played along. He waited until I dropped off the last tray and picked up Harry's bag of necessities, then followed us out the door. Harry took the deviation from routine in stride- shooting me a questioning look not unlike half the crowd in the bar, but not asking who our new friend was. 

Our tiny house was much the same from the last time Loki had visited, though now with more stuffed animals and juice boxes. Once the door closed behind us, he shifted back into the familiar form I knew. With them both in the same small room, I could see even more clearly the similarities between Harry and his father. This was a moment I had thought would never happen. To keep myself from breaking down, I fell back on the offensive. 

“You're gonna screw with his head. You're not the same person who walked in,” I said, keeping Harry's head on my shoulder away from Loki.

“He knows who I am,” Loki answered and it may have very well been true. Usually, Harry was fidgety in unfamiliar circumstances and calling for _Mama down!_ by now, but he was content to stay settled in my arms.“You named him after my alias?” 

“I thought it was fitting,” I said. “Harry Valin Lokison. People around here think you were a Nordic tourist who couldn't stay due to visa issues.” I paused and gave a weak laugh to his uncomprehending expression. “See, you had to leave because you were an alien.” I had to look away. “Then you died in prison. I thought you were dead. Everyone thinks you're dead.”

“And I prefer it that way.” He allowed himself a congratulatory smile. “It's been working out rather well.” As his eyes fell again on Harry, the smile faded though. “But I couldn't let you think that. I was only going to observe you, and reveal myself only if I knew I was still in your thoughts.”

I bounced Harry a little to regain circulation in my arms. “As you can see, you are. You've marked me, Loki. Emotionally and physically. I have stretch marks up to my ribs. This was a big kid.”

“Well, I am a frost giant,” he said without pride.

“Now you tell me.” I didn't want to ask the next question, but we couldn't keep chatting like everything was fine. “So now that you've observed, are you going to leave again?”

“I was,” he answered honestly. “This world holds little charm for me, but I never knew if you were able to escape. I had considered asking them- the force my brother aligned with, for word of you. That was a mere fleeting fancy. I could not expose any weaknesses to them, so I said nothing.”

“I'm a weakness?” I asked.

“You were an object they could attempt to leverage against me, just as I tried with my brother. It was best to not assign you any value.”

Just the words I imagined in my daydreams. Pure romance my man was.

“I see.”

“They know about the boy?”

“They've been around ever since you put me on their radar, so yeah, they know about Harry. Agent Donovan gave him a stuffed bear for his last birthday.” 

“They have not attempted to separate him from you?”

“I'd like to see them try,” I answered. 

This made Loki smile again. “I would like to see that as well. A strong protective mother...” Loki's face was all stormclouds. “No, we will speak of other things right now.”

“Mama!” Harry screamed in my ear. “Sleeper!” He struggled to break free from my arms and I let him down to the floor.

“Oh no Harry, I don't think he wants to see Sleeper.” 

He was already off and into his room.

“And just what is Sleeper?” Loki asked. His eyes had followed Harry's departure and he kept his head toward the hallway.

“You'll find out soon enough,” I answered. “Please don't judge. I was just trying to make a little boy happy.”

Harry ran back in and thrust the stuffed toy into Loki's hands. “Sleeper!” 

Loki turned the plush horse over and noted immediately, of course, where I had sewn and Frankensteined four extra legs to the body. 

“Harry loves Sleipnir,” I said. “This was the best I could do.”

Loki knelt down and returned the toy to Harry. “It's a remarkable likeness,” he said. “Except that Sleipnir has a golden mark above his foreleg. Right here.” He pointed to a space and there appeared a mark on the doll. 

Harry's eyes grew wide and rubbed at the mark with his tiny little thumb. “Mama! Look!” I waited for him to cry out and say it was different, it was ruined, but he kept smiling, letting himself fall seated onto the floor and letting little Sleeper gallop onto Loki's boots.

“So you have taught him about his older brother?” remarked Loki.

“Not that part,” I answered. “I just wanted him to feel comfortable with the stories so that when he was older I could tell him the truth and he could understand you better.”

“And that would soften the blow when you told him the enemy of the nine realms was his father?” I didn't like the change in his stance. He was preparing for a fight.

“I tell him the stories so that he would know you were more than that, more than what they wrote about you here.”

I knelt down before Harry and gently pushed Sleeper away from my face. “Harry, what kind of story would you like to hear before bed?”

“Loki!” answered Harry, looking up at his father. “I wanna hear Loki story!”

I tilted my head just in time to see Loki turn away. 

“After your bath I'm sure he can tell you a story you've never heard before. Now go find your jam-jams.”

“Would you like to help me get him ready for bed?” I asked.

“Now? The sun is still in the sky.”

“He's two. He needs to sleep. I need him to sleep.”

“But I'm not done. I've only just met him.”

I pulled myself back up to my feet. That didn't sound like a man with time to spare. “I know, love, but he has to stay on a schedule or his genetic urge for chaos will come to the forefront.”

“Is that so bad?” he asked with a grin.

“It is when I need to work and he has to spend the day with the babysitter who charges me for everything he breaks.”

“Mama! Waiting!” yelled a little voice from the bathroom.

I held out my hand. “Shall we attend to the little prince?”

Loki refused my offer and strode down the hall. Harry squealed when he walked in. “Bath?”

Three people in the space made it even smaller, especially with us in our wrinkled cottons and Loki in his swathes of leather and metal. 

“In?” asked Harry, his hand slapping the side of the tub as I turned on the tap. 

“No,” answered Loki. “The stables in Asgard have more impressive troughs than this. Thor and I would stage naval battles in the golden tub we had in the palace. Your mother will join you.”

His eyes met mine, darkened to a familiar shade that I associated with arid heat and the squeal of overworked springs. “Oh, I don't know...”

“Mama?” Harry tugged at my sleeve. This was our time to relax and rinse away the smoke and the noise of the day, where we could just be our little duo and not worry about anything else. I took the cap full of soap and tipped it under the faucet. Loki lifted up Harry and placed him in the center of the emerging bubbles and turned to me. 

“Go on.”

I hesitated. The last time he had seen me had been so long ago. My breasts did not sit as high as they once did, stretched and deflated again. Shimmering puckering lines spread from my now slightly wider hips up to my ribcage. My stomach was on its way to lying flat again but it wasn't there yet. In the harsh white light, I knew all of these flaws would stand out even more. I didn't want to chase Loki away from Harry by being a disappointment. 

“It's not necessary.”

Loki pursed his lips together. “Don't waste time. Get in with the child.”

The rose-petal scented steam curled around me and the thought of being off my feet was strong. I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it past Loki's shoulder. Fuck him if he didn't like it. I kicked out of my jeans, unhooked my bra and pulled a washcloth off the shelf. The bottom of the tub was a little slick with soap and as I stretched out my arms to steady my balance, Loki grasped me. Nothing in his expression read dissatisfaction. In fact, his hand held tighter than it needed to and his eyes took their time crossing over every inch.

“Thank you,” I said, slowly settling myself to sit down behind where Harry was making a rubber frog squirt water out of its mouth and laughing. 

Loki sat himself facing us, his back against the wall. He closed his eyes and let his shoulders relax. He looked better than the last time we had met. Then he was pale and skittish, dark-circled and distracted. Now he had some color and the tension that had him wound so tight before was less. Still, I felt he needed a moment to be in himself so I kept quiet and dipped the washcloth into the water. Harry squealed as it touched his back. 

“Little crocodiles shouldn't be afraid of a little water,”I said to him. Harry turned and pretended to snap at me in between giggles. No matter what Loki's plans were, he had seen what he had given me.

“Frigga should have met you,” Loki said in a low voice. “We spoke of you once, when she accused me of having of having so much contempt for everything and everyone. She was intrigued and told me she would look in on you. If she did, if she knew about the child, she said nothing. Or she never had the chance.” 

He looked up at me. “You wouldn't have caused her death like my brother's whore.” He hissed out his words as Harry entertained himself. “You wouldn't have needed protecting like that weak little thing. I should have run a blade through her before my own planned demise, but I feared my brother would not focus on my loss. I assumed the bitch would fall prey to the elves soon enough.”

I glared at him. “Language. Was she really to blame?” I knew I should have tried harder back in New Mexico to follow through with his plan. I could have done it. I could have tracked her down. All the possibilities that played in my head over the years flickered past again. In failing, I had helped cause this as well. 

“Of course I blame her, her and my idiot brother. He should have known better than to bring such a danger right into our home. They will pay.” Loki took a breath and smiled at Harry. “What else does the child like?”

“Fire,” I answered. “He loves how it moves, he says.”

“I understand,” Loki answered. He placed a hand into the water and a bubble rose from the others and grew larger. As it expanded, we could see past the iridescence and inside was a landscape of fire and lava and ash. Harry gasped and reached for it, and it stayed firm between his little fingers.

“This is Muspelheim,” said Loki. “One of the nine realms. It is the land of the fire giants. It burns so hot, there are rivers of glass.”

The bubble popped and Harry threw down his arms in anger, splashing both of us. “Bring it back!”

Another appeared and this one was a lush green valley. “Alfheim, home of the light elves. They are great wielders of magic. I have learned much from them.”

Again and again, Loki showed Harry and I the worlds we had never seen- the barren blackness of Svartalfeim, the rocks of Nidavellir, the mists of Niflheim, the villages of Vanaheim, where he said his mother had spent time studying. Harry took them all in wide-eyed and silent, and I have to admit, so did I.

One more held spired golden palaces and sparkling skies. “This is Asgard,” said Loki. “The gleaming facade covers a center of darkness. Only danger would welcome you.” 

Despite the words, Harry's face lit up. “Pretty!”

Loki's voice was loud and echoed off the tile. “You will never go there! The flames of Muspelheim are safer than the land of Odin. My children have all suffered at his hands. He threw my daughter into the underworld, one son into the sea, one sits at his feet and another in his stable. I allowed all this because I craved his approval, but no more.”

He burst the illusion and brought forth another. This one was a land of ice and strong winds blowing bursts of snow. “Here is the land of our birth- Jotunheim. This is our rightful throne. Since the death of their king, they are unstable and looking for leadership. The blood of Laufey has a claim.”

“Is this your next move?” I asked. Did it really matter which world he was on if it wasn't here? Across the stars was across the stars.

Again his eyes fell on Harry. “It was, but I always have several strategies to choose from.”

The water had grown cold and now that the tricks were over, Harry was bored with being confined.

“Why don't you get the towel and take him to his room? I'll be right behind. That would be a great help.”

Harry scrambled into Loki's arms and began to babble as they walked out. That gave me a chance to let my shoulders shake and tears fall. I knew life would never have been this normal and domestic with Loki, but this was the first time it wasn't just the two of us and the small taste of how things are supposed to be left me grateful but also mourning the other little moments we would never have.

Harry was already dressed and under the covers when I came in, my hair still damp and dripping onto the sundress too faded and worn for outside use I put on at the end of the day. Loki was seated in the chair I placed by the tiny toddler bed.

“And that's why rabbits have such long ears,” he said to Harry's delight.

“Funny story, Mama! Funny Loki!”

“Tell me tomorrow,” I said and bent down to kiss his forehead.

“Now!” answered Harry. “I'm not tired!”

“It doesn't matter,” I answered. “It's bedtime.”

Harry turned his head to Loki. “Kiss!”

The god of mischief gave me a look of panic. “Should I?”

“It's up to you.”

Harry held out his arms to wrap around Loki's neck as he pressed his lips to Harry's brow. “Goodnight, Harry.”

“I like you,” Harry answered.

“I like you, too. Very much.”

“I liked the bubbles too.”

We still stood there as Harry's eyes fluttered closed one last time and the pace of his breath grew steady and calm.

“We made that,” I said. I actually said that every night but this was the first time Loki was here to agree.

“Indeed. He is a fine boy. You've done well.”

“Thank you,” I answered, though still uncomfortable with the thought of Loki complimenting me.

“Did you know that you visited me every night?”

“Oh really?” I answered. “How did I do that?” 

“A simple enough materialization. Not as creative with the profanity, but a close enough likeness. I set a larger illusion so no one else could see, and I spoke to you.”

He was still behind me so he couldn't see that more tears were threatening to flow free. “Now I know you're pulling my leg, spaceman. You never had any interest in speaking to me- it was either scorn or porn with you.”

There was definitely hurt in his voice. “That's not true. I asked about your... tattoo? I listened to your plans. I offered you protection. I tried to save you. I read and re-read that horrid book of yours. It was my cherished possession inside that cell. I kept it on my person, I caressed the crease in the cover from when you set it down too quickly at the breakfast table, the mark where you dropped it in the spilled coffee at the diner, the spot where you kissed the back cover.”

“How did you know that?” I asked and turned to face him. It was an impulsive gesture once I pulled it off the shelf to hand to Donovan after the Battle of New York. It had been for my benefit only, I had no lipstick or anything on to leave a stain.

Loki smiled. “There are many things I can do with my magic, things I can teach Harry.”

“How are you going to do that? You can't stay here. Everyone thinks you're dead and they like it.”

“I thought being a prisoner in Asgard was better than to be a free man anywhere else. It was my home, the land I was destined to rule. I was going to bide my time until an opportunity arose, but your voice was in my head that I didn't need their respect. As time passed, the throne held less of a thrall on me and there was no benefit to my incarceration.”

“Well, I did tell you that. You are your own man, Loki, and you're better than being defined by them.” 

“I freed myself from all expectations but my own and I thought no one held a claim on me, but now... now I find I may have to alter my immediate plans.”

“What exactly are your plans now?” I asked. Better to know than to be surprised.

He twined his arms around me and held me close. “I believe it's time to put you to bed.”

*-*-*


	3. Chapter 3

“Don't close the door,” I said as he moved one hand from where it had been on my hip pressing me forward into my bedroom. “If Harry needs me... Sometimes he wakes up if he hears a noise.” I couldn't imagine us not making a sound. Already the sound of my breath was audible and nothing had happened yet.

“Shall I put him under a spell? He would sleep through the night,” answered Loki. He was still behind me. It was summer and the sun had still not set, giving off a few last rays through the swaying vertical blinds. I could smell him, the sting of winter air in my nose and heard the protests of the leather as he moved. My body was begging me to let him use his magic to give it some uninterrupted release, to feel sensations not caused by my own hands, to rediscover familiar territory, to be me again and not Mama just for one night.

“No. We'll make it work.”

I turned to face him, to press myself against long stretches of muscle, to rest my head on his chest and feel the cool skin beneath my cheek. Years of replayed memories and extended daydreams were about to be supplemented. 

Except that I met a different memory. 

Soft curves, red lips, long waving tresses. His own, now more delicate, fingers cupped large full breasts. Mine would be too. Wait, mine can be. Fucking trickster god knew what I was expecting and refused to give it to me. Well, I was not going to let a little thing like a gender swap stop me. I had been waiting ages to touch him again and I was going to go full-steam ahead.

I looked down on him with determination before my mind stopped. Why was I looking down? I made a quick survey of my own body and found it widening. Larger hands were held out before my eyes and a distracting tightening was happening low between my legs. 

“You look enticing, my pet,” said Loki and I spun toward the mirror over the dresser to see the whole picture.

My first reaction was shock that my hair was gone, now closely cropped and soft against my palms. My fingers trailed down against a square jaw and a broad chest and, with a surprising ease of instinct, wrapped around what I found beyond. I turned to find an ass just right for quarter-bouncing and thick muscled thighs. I was reaching for the light switch to get a better view when Loki laughed.

“Enough vanity, come join me.”

Oh, I was going to join him alright, I thought. I was going to join him right into the mattress. So clearly this illusion went right down to the hormonal level. The glowing words in the back of my head were _take, possess, own_. That lovely creature spread out on my bed was there for me and only me and I was led by my hips to take my place beside him. In the part of my mind that was new, or had been so hidden before I hadn't known it was there, I had no hesitation about what to do. 

“Loki,” I said, my voice deep and low.

He smiled. He may have looked like a woman, but he was still Loki in the way he posed, the crinkle of his eyes, the set of his lips. Freed from the image that dominated my daydreams, I wondered once again if I really did love him, or if it was a feeling that I convinced myself I had during the long silent nights as I had run my hands across the impatient bundle under my abdomen and tried to figure out where my life was going. When he had been here, he hadn't been any ideal of romance, but if people were only loved by their virtues there would be a lot less love in the world. 

My new companion between my hipbones was telling me to shut up already and dive in somewhere, anywhere. With one last glance back at my reflection, I approached the illusion on my bed. Those full red lips parted as I bent down to taste them. I felt a small spark, an attempt to get back inside my thoughts, but I kept the door closed. My head was already split in two and I needed all my concentration. Sharp nails wore furrows into my shoulders and hips arched up eagerly. I wanted to take my time, but my new body was fighting with my old mind. _Hurry, now, don't stop, now, now, now_. I pulled my lips from his mouth and slid down, releasing the pressure on the full breasts that had been crushed against my chest. Without using my hands I took one deep pink nipple into my mouth, using just enough pressure to hear a change in Loki's breathing. My tongue circled, coaxing it to stiffen even more and cause his pelvis to twist even more insistently against mine. The strain between my own hipbones was becoming more difficult to ignore. I could feel a steady beat of pulse there as well as beneath my ribs and between my ears- _now, now, now_. The only time they were quieted was when Loki reached for my erection and my whole mind and body went solid red. As soon as I could breathe again, the chant was back. I wanted to make this moment last, to spend my time tasting and touching and engraving every second deep into my memory, but I also was certain I was going to die if this monstrous parasite on me was not sated soon. I lifted myself and stared into Loki's eyes which caught the last glow of the parting sun. He was no wreck of unsatisfied desire. His body was relaxed and the laughter he kept inside was visible beyond the shifting colors. 

"Go on," he said softly. "I am ever so curious." 

He kissed me and wrapped his legs so that I was only one minor adjustment away from seating myself completely inside. I had planned to go slower, but there had been no resistance. I slid into a slick heat, the fire doing nothing to dampen my own inferno. I pulled back too quickly and threw myself off balance. I should have been mortified to hear Loki's laugh, but it brought back the squealing old motel bedframe and the image of frightened Asgardian waterfowl. Maybe this was how it was supposed to be between us, not that it had ever been like this between us before. I rocked forward again, my eyes transfixed on the shadow and sway of breasts as I made my strokes, satisfying and yet urging that foreign part of me onward. _Mine_ , the chant had changed. _Mine mine mine_.

"Yes, my pet," he whispered in my ear. "Just like that." 

I didn't dare change my tempo. I had been at the mercy of too many false starts to know variety isn't always welcome. As much as the tension was becoming unbearable, I made myself keep the pace until his breathing changed and his hands tightened around my arms as he groaned through clenched teeth. Then I felt safe to let what little control I had go, to feel all of myself concentrated on that one point. If my mind had gone red before, now it was blinding white- every color refracting into my head blocking out any possibility of thought or motion. When I could see again, which wasn't much- weak twilight and the glow under the door were the only sources in the room keeping it from total shadow, Loki was still smiling. 

"I'm impressed," he said. "I didn't imagine you'd be able to perform so well the first time. This was your first time?" 

I was tempted to let go and let this new bulk crush him again to the mattress. Instead I eased onto my back and stared up at the cheap glow-in-the-dark stars I had pasted to the ceiling. I held out my arms so that Loki could rest his head, the long dark waves spread across our shoulders.

"No, spontaneously growing a penis is something that totally happens here every day. I usually wait until Sundays though." 

"This tiny place," he answered. "How do you fully live without magic?" 

I felt a strange surge of Earthly pride. "We don't do things the easy way around here, we work for it."

"There's no need," was his answer. 

"May I please go back now?" I asked. "That was a trip but I don't feel like me." 

"In a while," he answered ."I like this form. It suits you." 

"Loki..." I started, trying to throw some warning in my voice. A warning of what, however, I wasn't sure.

“You never called me by my name the last time,” he said without the arrogance I was used to. “Not until the end when you thought I wouldn't hear, but I hear all prayers sent out to me.”

“I didn't?” I asked, struggling to remember. “Not once?”

“Not that I recall.”

“What about since? Did you hear me after you left?”

“My cell was designed in a way to divide me from the outside world. They wanted me alone with my thoughts. All four walls would have been stone if they hadn't wanted to gawp at their prized catch.”

“So, no?”

“Nothing but what I imagined.”

“Sometimes when I was afraid I'd pretend you were over my shoulder, insulting me and pushing me toward my fear.” When he looked concerned, I added. “It helped me through a lot of difficult situations.”

“I'm glad I was able to give some some measure of comfort.”

“Loki,” I was going to say it every chance I had now. “Now I haven't just turned the tables and knocked you up, have I? I want to say that's a stupid idea but then I remember Sleipnir.”

“No,” he answered with a kiss to my cheek. “That happened because I willed it. I knew if I carried the child then I would have that long with him before Odin could decree otherwise. I should have stayed away, I should have birthed him in the forest and set him free, but I was vain and I wanted to show everyone what I had done and how strong my magic was that I could bend the strictest laws of nature to my bidding. This is not what Odin wanted to see. I was still recovering when I was told my son had been locked in the royal stables. I begged to release him, but my mother and my brother told me it was a fitting sacrifice that I give up my child that I had borne so unnaturally. This was my punishment.”

“I don't know what to say. So many people were convinced I wasn't going to keep Harry, but no one had the power to force me. I can't imagine...”

“Then don't,” answered Loki and as he hummed against my neck, I felt the urge to sleep settle over me and I accepted.

When I woke, the body that stretched and creaked was mine again. I turned and met again the mass of dark waves. Loki had felt no need to change.

I poked him sharp in the ribs. “Why are you still like that?” I asked when one green eye glared up at me.

“I enjoy this form, especially the way you look at me. I feel like a mouse under the eye of a hawk.”

He reached for me and settled those raspberry lips on my exposed breast. I let my words stop for a beat before continuing with my concern.

“If you're still like this when Harry wakes up, it's really going to mess with his head. You can't be three different people.”

Loki shrugged his delicate shoulders. “The child understands.”

At the mention of his name, the door swung open and Harry appeared, more tangled black hair and angry green eyes. My breath caught as I struggled to think of an explanation as to why Mama was naked in bed next to a woman Harry had never met.

He didn't stop his toddle and crawled up onto the bed and settled on Loki's lap. “Mama, I'm hungry,” he announced.

“Yes, Mama should make some breakfast,” said Loki, wrapping his arms around Harry.

Harry leaned back and nuzzled up under his chin with a yawn. “Another story?”

*-*-*


	4. Chapter 4

I had no plans other than to watch Harry and Loki together, keeping quiet so they could interact uninterrupted. Harry’s manic laughter would cause the widest smiles on his father’s face, and not those self-satisfied grins I was used to, the ones marking genuine delight that were rare but brilliant. 

“Mama, pancakes already?” Harry asked with a frown, suddenly remembering why he was here.

“Is that fine with you?” I asked Loki.

“If Harry enjoys them, I’m sure they will be acceptable.”

 _Acceptable_. I knew that was the best I was going to get, so I left it, knowing it would be about another ten minutes until Harry would notice I hadn’t moved and I could spend that time engraving these moments with what I could legitimately call my family into my memory.

When my phone began to chime, I willed it to stop. _No, no, no. This is my day off. This day will never happen again._

Harry scrambled over Loki and me to pick it up off the bedside table and hand it over. “Pop-Pop!” he said as he recognized the picture that appeared. 

“Yes, it is Pop-Pop,” I answered. “But he can wait. I think someone asked for pancakes?” 

Harry didn’t care that I placed the phone back down as he slid off the bed and toddled to the kitchen.

“Who is this?” asked Loki.

“Just my dad. It won’t be anything important. I’m sure Krystal’s done something stupid again and he needs to vent.”

“And what is this Krystal?”

A question I have asked myself many times. “She’s his girlfriend. He must have already paid all the bills for the month, so it’s free time to start an argument. It’s a fairly regular thing.”

“Why?”

“So she doesn’t have to get a real job and he can say he’s got a girlfriend five years older than me.”

I hadn’t been over there since the day she tried to get Harry to call her Grandma. If she had been a nicer person I wouldn’t have cared at all, but she wasn’t. She was manipulative and greedy and ungrateful and bigoted and aggressively ignorant. She had made it clear to Dad, though not to me of course, that she disapproved of me going on vacation and coming back pregnant, as if any of it had anything to do with her. She thought the cross around her neck was some sort of amulet which kept her judgments from bouncing back on her. I could give half a damn about her and her kids and their three last names between them, and her belief that to even mention magic was a summoning of the devil. She had gone on long and hard after the Battle of New York, and had practically slept at the church. I longed for an opportunity to tell her just who Harry’s father was and all the power he possessed, but my moment of satisfaction at seeing her face wouldn’t be worth the trouble caused. 

The phone chimed again, this time a text. 

_Where you at? I’m sick. Krystal’s in Daytona in court all day. Need help. Come over?_

I showed the screen to Loki. “I don’t think I can get out of this. I’ll call Harry’s babysitter and see if she can watch him while I find out what he needs. You’ll be fine here for a little while?”

“Leave the child with me,” he answered. “I wish to learn more from him.”

“I don’t know what you could learn except maybe how to change the channels on the tv or how to shove peas up your nose. Donovan will notice if I leave the house without my toddler-aged son.”

“But you did not return home alone.” He changed back into the cowboy and I had the strong urge to forget everyone and lock the bedroom door, but that feeling passed because I pushed it aggressively aside.

“So you want them to believe I left my toddler-aged son with a stranger I just met?”

“Does it matter what they believe?”

“If it looks too strange, Donovan might come closer to investigate.”

“Do you really live your life so concerned with how these people may interpret your every action?”

“Yes,” I replied, wondering why this hadn’t already been clear to him. “We are going to be of interest to S.H.I.E.L.D. until we’re dead and I have no illusions that they’ll leave us alone then.” No need for Loki to know my nightmares of Harry being segmented and run through scanners and poured into vials.

Maybe he could see it anyway, because I knew that look on his face.

“Even if you killed Donovan,” I told him, “the next day there’d be ten more agents and a strike team. This is just the price we pay.”

“Why must you pay a price?” Loki asked. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“I’m the only known ally, after the mind control wore off everyone else, of an alien enemy combatant and the legal guardian of his next-of-kin.”

“I don’t like this,” he said. “Your safety here is too fragile. If you must go see to your father, I insist you leave the child with me. I will protect him.”

It seemed like the perfect solution- leave Harry with his father, let them spend as much time together as possible, but part of me was wary. We had been fine so far- I saw to that, but what if Loki wanted to find a vulnerability so he could take off with Harry? I had seen him before when he spoke of his children and how they had all been taken from him. Maybe he wasn’t going to let that happen again and they’d cross realms the minute my car was out of the driveway. Now that would be something to explain to Agent Donovan. I may never see daylight again. And I was certain I wouldn’t want to.

“I don’t know,” I said with a smile. “He’s a handful.”

Loki returned the expression. “I’ve dealt with far worse.” His face darkened as he reached out for me. “Do you not trust me with the child?”

I sighed. “Do I know you’re still going to be here when I get back?”

He sat up and the door to the bedroom closed on its own. “Of all the things I have done, can do, and will do, tearing my son away from his mother is not one of them. The child is young, but he is attached to you. Your loss would already be irreparable. I have felt this pain; both as a mother and a son, and I would not willingly cause it to ones so close to me.”

The phone chimed again, pleading for an answer. 

“See to him,” said Loki. “You have nothing to fear here.”

I turned my head to the closed door and strained to hear beyond it. “I promised Harry breakfast.”

“I will do it.”

“You’ll actually cook or you’ll…” I fluttered my fingers about theatrically.

“I will…” Loki responded with a hand wave of his own.

“That would save me from having to wash the dishes,” I answered. There could be more of an argument, but really Harry was safer with Loki than he was with me. They could shimmer out of any trouble, and what trouble could there be in an hour or so? “Don’t answer the phone, don’t open the door, keep away from the windows and don’t cause any trouble.”

I waited for protests, but he simply nodded and magicked some clothes on and walked off in search of Harry. Before long I was showered and dressed and found the two of them sitting on the floor of Harry’s room, the little one with his Sleeper and the bigger one making shadow puppets more elaborate than could be made from ten fingers. After the lampshade was tipped straight again, the figures remained on the wall.

“Harry, I need to visit Pop-Pop for a little bit, but he’s feeling sick so I don’t want you to go or you’ll get sick, too.”

“I want to see Pop-Pop!” cried Harry.

“He wants to see you too, but I think it would be easier if you stayed home with…” I struggled for what to call him.

Harry’s frown vanished. “With Loki!”

I turned to Loki, wondering when the introduction had been made, but he shook his head. 

“Yes, sweetie, with Loki. Can you be a good boy while I’m gone?”

Harry proceeded to skip around us. “Loki! Loki! Loki!” he sang out.

“Then I guess this is a good time for me to go,” I said. It wasn’t as if I was going to be that far away, but the tug- the feeling that I should never let Harry out of my sight that would pinch at me before he was even born, still tweaked some nerve endings somewhere. 

“I remember how you spoke of your parents,” Loki said. “See to what he wants, but do not allow him to affect you. Harry and I will plan a celebration for your homecoming.”

“You’re going to be so happy to see me after dealing with him for a couple hours, you will want to throw a party,” I answered. 

Loki returned my smile. “See. Nothing to worry about over here. Do what needs to be done and return.”

Donovan did not look up from his book as I passed him on the street. In fact, it almost appeared if he was asleep. Maybe Loki was so confident because he already had smoothed the way for my departure. 

Dad’s house met me with its usual scent of cigarette smoke and ranch dressing when I pushed aside the back door. 

“Is that you, hon?” 

I wasn’t sure if that meant me. “You asked me to come over.”

“I’m dying,” Dad moaned from the couch, his feet sticking out from the sheet over him and one arm over his eyes.

“You always say that and it’s never true,” I said, leaning over and resting the back of my hand against his forehead and feeling nothing amiss.

“Krystal thinks I’m faking so I didn’t have to go to court with her about her visitation. She’s pissed at me for staying home.”

I kept my mouth closed on that point. “So what did you need me for?”

“I’m hungry.” He dragged the last word out like he was younger than Harry. I hated that sound. It made me glad I had somewhere else to live.

“Is there anything here?” I stopped before I added the word _edible_ to my question. Their combined cooking skills, or lack thereof, was the stuff of legend.

“Probably not,” he replied as I headed to the kitchen for a quick inventory. I could do the generous thing and hit the store to shore up their supply of staples, but I didn’t want to be away longer than necessary. 

“Then what would you want?” I asked, knowing this wasn’t an easy inquiry either.

“I don’t know,” he whined. “I’m just hungry.”

Oh God. Really? We were going to play this? I don’t know why I ever expected anything different. Not all boys grow up to be men; life had certainly taught me that lesson.

“Ok, fine. When you called me, what did you picture? There had to be something you wanted.”

“Don’t use that tone of voice with me,” he threatened. That might have worked when I was younger and had nowhere to go, but now I was ready to turn and walk right out the door. “You need to take care of me, too. You owe me.”

 _For what?_ I wanted to ask. For life? For not running off like Mom did? It wasn’t as if he had given any more than the bare minimum required by society and the state. 

“I’m here to help, I’m trying to help.”

“Pick something, I don’t care, just don’t be gone for an hour.” It didn’t matter, even if he told me exactly what to pick up, there would be a way I’d get it wrong. Temptation was strong to just drive home when I walked back to my car, but instead I made my way to Carmen’s and ordered Dad’s favorite steak quesadillas. If I was going to go places I hadn’t wanted to today, might as well add on walking into work on my day off.

“Your dad?” asked Chuck as he cleared the sweaty glasses away from the bar in front of where I took a seat.

“You know it,” I answered. “He can sense when I have some free time and a couple bucks in my pocket.”

“Where’s the crocodile?”

“I didn’t want him to catch whatever Dad has, so I left him with Shanna.” I felt anxious lying, even though I knew there was no possible reason my babysitter would walk in here today.

“I’m not asking about the guy last night…” he said as he turned slightly away to fill the napkin holder.

“Good, because I’m not explaining.”

“We just want to make sure you’re good. We worry about you and the little one.”

I laughed. “Nothing to worry about here.”

“If you ever need anything…”

“I know.”

Dad waved off the bag when I brought it to him. “I don’t think I can keep it down.”

I picked it back up. “I’ll leave it in the kitchen. Are you good? Do you want some water or anything before I go?”

“Water would be good. Don’t go. We haven’t seen you or the munchkin lately. Krystal’s missed him. Family is important.”

None of those sentences seemed to connect to the other. “Shanna took him out for the day. I needed to get some things done.”

“Shanna’s a nice girl, but that boy needs a family. He can’t grow up with a babysitter and a mother working all hours of the night just to scrape by. He needs a father.”

This wasn’t exactly the topic to keep me around. Because an intact family was so important to my development… but maybe it was different because Harry was a boy. I wouldn’t put it past my father to think so.

“He has a family, and a father.”

“Some guy you knew for an hour isn’t a father. Harry will never know that loser. He’s still young, you fix yourself up and you could find someone he could get attached to and he would never know the difference.”

“How do you know he’s a loser?”

His laugh turned into a cough. “Where is he now, Lyss? Not here.”

No, not here, thank God, but where he belongs. For now.

Dad took a drink out of the water glass and settled back along the couch, facing the back. Before I could reach the door, I could hear a regular chime from his phone on the table, letting me know Krystal was out of court and in contact. That was enough to prove it was safe to leave. Who knew what Harry and Loki were getting up to. I had visions of a flour-dusted winter wonderland in the kitchen, lipstick rings around Harry’s eyes, and something on the ceiling that should never be on the ceiling- he had done them before with my supervision, I could only imagine what he would do with Loki as minder, and possibly instigator. I was not going to let myself think of any other possibilities. Loki promised to stay out of trouble. I had to expect him to keep his word.

I let myself believe that until I walked into an empty house.

*-*-*


	5. Chapter 5

The last thing I needed was for S.H.I.E.L.D. to have any reason to walk into this house, but I was prepared to call on them and all the power they possessed once I saw Harry was missing.

“Harry? Are you playing hide and seek? I brought back some ice cream from Pop-Pop’s.” I was torn between screaming their names while ripping open every door and keeping as still as possible to listen for any sound. 

The glass slid aside when I pressed on the handle leading out to the pool and beyond, the back gate. Hot air smacked me in the face and made my already racing heart speed faster.

_Damn you, Loki. Damn you. I knew you were lying, I knew it. You pulled me in with your sob story and I bought it because I didn’t care. I wanted you back so bad, I wanted Harry to meet you and I didn’t think about everything you really are._

I checked that the bottom of the pool was clear and turned for the gate. My hand was raised to press the latch when it opened and Loki stood before me. There wasn’t much distance between my palm and his cheek so I didn’t get much power behind the slap, but it rocked his head back all the same.

“Mama?” asked Harry cautiously. He was clinging to Loki’s leg and dusted in sand. He had never seen me strike out for any reason before and I felt sick. If anyone had broken a promise in regards to Harry, it was me.

“Where have you been?” I asked him lightly while glaring at Loki, who was back to curls and curves, looking as fresh and untouched by the heat as he had in New Mexico.

_Oh fuck._

Harry appeared to be intact and happy so I turned full-on to Loki.

“You went out looking like that?” I asked, knowing he’d mock me for asking such a seemingly obvious question.

“Why not?” he replied with a toss of his hair. “It’s much simpler for a woman and child to be seen together in this place. No one would think twice about it.”

“No one approached you or seemed to pay too much attention to you?”

“This shape always seems to attract some attention,” he answered with a grin. “But all is well.”

“No, sweetheart,” I tried to keep my voice below a scream. “All is not well! S.H.I.E.L.D. knows that form. It’ll hit facial recognition sensors and set off alarms, especially when seen with my kid.”

“Our kid,” Loki corrected.

“Now is not the time for splitting hairs. They’re going to descend on us and all hell is going to break loose.”

“Hel is my sister!” announced Harry. “Is she coming too?”

“We’ve been having some fascinating conversations,” said Loki. “You’ve already given him a great deal of information. Well done.”

“Not now, please. This is serious. This is about as serious as it could ever get.” The fence enclosing the back was wooden and high, solid slats to keep away the eyes of curious neighbors, but also impossible to see out. Not being able to know what was around us made me uncomfortable. “Let’s go inside.”

I held out my arms for Harry and he climbed up, babbling on about the water and everyone he was going to meet. I left him in the kitchen and scanned the front windows. Donovan was in his sedan at the corner as always, the screen of his tablet reflecting light back onto his glasses. Just because he looked the same didn’t mean I could relax. Donovan knew I wasn’t stupid. There was little chance Loki’s walk went unnoticed, not after the cowboy entered the house and the mystery woman who tried to meet with Jane Foster left it. Someone had to have noticed something and reported it.

“You should have stayed the cowboy,” I said, more to myself than to Loki. “That would have given us more time.”

“I need no more time,” he answered. “There is no further business I must conduct in this realm.”

“That’s all well and good, but you disappearing doesn’t mean everything’s ok. This is still a very dangerous situation.”

Loki shifted back into what I’d consider his regular form, the long dark hair and pale skin adjusting slightly and now dressed in his heavy leather and armor that already made him fidget as the afternoon sun was still shining hot.

“Calm yourself,” he said. “This is not a reason for panic.”

I stared at him. “We’re not sure how long we have before armed men storm this house, taking you away, taking Harry away, very likely never to be seen again, and you want me to think happy thoughts?”

“We are not trapped,” he answered, stepping away from where Harry was having a conversation with Sleeper. “We can leave this realm as easily as I arrived. I have made sure of it.” 

I looked around the house. There wasn’t anything in any room I couldn’t leave behind. The constant threat of S.H.I.E.L.D. changing its mind and wanting to take Harry- with or without me, kept me from having any attachment to things. But who did he mean by we? I knew Loki was also freed from the burden of sentimentality. While I was certain he would protect Harry with his life, was I just a thing?

“You mean you and Harry?”

There it was; the look that reminded me I was a simple creature to him. “What purpose would it serve to leave you behind? We won’t need you to act as a distraction.”

“What good would I be in the nine realms? Is there a bar on Alfheim looking for a waitress? Am I just Harry’s nanny until you decide he doesn’t need me anymore?”  
Loki sighed, turned on his heel and walked toward the window. “I am now reconsidering my plan. Not for the reasons you give, but for the simple fact that you never listen to me. That would put you in great danger where we need to go.”

I took in a deep breath. _Oh God, don’t make me do this._ “Just take him then. He’ll be safe with you. I’ll stay behind. I won’t tell them anything, no matter what they try. As long as I know Harry isn’t going to be their lab rat, I can take it.”

Before I could register that he even moved, there he was in front of me, lifting my chin with one hand to look into my eyes. “What did they do to you because of me?” he asked softly. As I felt that once-familiar intrusion behind my skull, his expression turned to surprise and I could tell he didn’t need me to answer.

“For that alone, I could never leave you behind. No one has ever shown me the loyalty you have.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. You should have someone on your side better than me. I failed in New Mexico. I should have tried harder. I was caught too easily.” I tried to smile. “Harry won’t leave, but keep him away from Odin. He seems to think your children are toys he can take away from you.”

“Odin shall never know of him. Harry is under my protection now and I have no urge to fall prey to the Allfather’s whims again at the expense of my family. I owe him nothing.”

“Then your business here is done,” I said. “You need to go.” I didn’t even want to look at Harry for fear I might change my mind.

“You forget,” Loki said and for a moment I thought he might be casting a spell on me, an insurance policy that I could not give out any crucial information, but then he reached for my hand. “I traveled to this realm not knowing about him, so who did I come for, but you? Don’t expect me to try and sway you with words of love, because I have none. Neither can I call you my equal, because no such creature exists, but I know you need some reassurance if you see another round of torture as preferable to roaming the nine realms and beyond with me and our child.”

“I didn’t say it was preferable,” I answered, not knowing what else to say.

“I do care for you, Lyssa, and I can’t think of another I would have as my companion. You will see wonders beyond your imagination. I will teach Harry everything I know, all that I learned from my mother and more. You will teach him…”

When he paused, I waited for the knife to cut deeper. 

“You will teach him as you already have- all the things I cannot. How to feel loved and how to be steadfast and devoted in the face of no reward, to know his true self and be valued for it. He will be greater for all we both can give him.”

“You want me to come with you?” I asked, fully aware time was short. So what if I wasn’t Loki’s one forever love? Despite the ache in my heart at his words, maybe he wasn’t mine either? Who knew what would happen out in the stars. So many things were possible while only one outcome was certain if we stayed here.

“I want you to come with me. No harm will come to you again.”

I knew there would be no point or no time to pack a bag, but I hurried to my room all the same and pulled out the box that held my grandmother’s class ring. It was the only thing I had I couldn’t leave behind. I thought of all the clutter designed to keep us in one place- the food that would discolor and soften in the fridge, the letters until the power was cut off, the grass growing up to the windows until the landlord finally came around. How long before anyone from Carmen’s would come by to check in on us? Definitely sooner than Dad would. I hated to leave them, but they’d be fine. My sweet car, which carried us down this path. Oh Scarecrow, I’ll miss you most of all. 

Then I rushed to Harry’s room to find him a better change of clothes before I had to accept that Loki could just magic whatever he needed. One glance out the window showed me another car had parked behind Donovan. That never happened. This was it.

“Where are we going? Are you just going to shimmer us out of here or do we have to leave out the back door?” I asked, picking up Harry and Sleeper.

“It would be best if we arrived on foot,” Loki answered.

“Then we need to leave now. Can you at least give us a distraction?”

Loki waved his hand. “Already in place.”

I turned to see us- me and Harry and Lady Loki, seated on the sofa, waiting for guests to arrive. Did my hair really look like that? Whatever. The shadows were growing longer outside, making more room for soldiers to hide. We needed to get some distance between us and the house.

“To the beach?” I asked.

“Yes.”

There was the possibility that we could open the gate and run face-to-face into armed agents, so I turned to keep as much of my body in front of Harry as possible as I followed Loki out, but there was no one. Had I overreacted and nothing was happening? Did Agent Donovan think I was stupid after all and figure he could just walk through the front door? Or had we simply made it out in time?

My answer came in the sound of splintering wood behind us and the rush of boots. I panicked and searched for an escape route, but as my head dropped down, I couldn’t see my feet and I stumbled. I felt rather than saw the hand on my elbow to steady me. 

“Keep looking up,” whispered Loki’s voice coming from an invisible throat. “It’s too easy to become disoriented otherwise.” 

So I focused on the far edge of the ocean in front of us as Harry used Sleeper as a pillow against my neck. Loki kept hold of me until we reached the beach.

“Now what?” My shoes were sinking into the sand. No clear answer was visible to me, though now Loki was. This brought back my anxiety. We could be spotted and there was no easy place to run for cover. We were on flat land between the line of rickety-porched houses propped up on sticks and a lazy stretch of barely moving waves.

“Would Harry like to meet another one of his brothers?”

The shimmering slick on the surface of the water began to move and rise. I spun my head around to see if anyone was panicking as the giant serpent’s head appeared, its scales iridescent and oily and each the size of a car, but no. They all continued on their carefree walks and casts into the waves without noticing Jorgamundir approaching.

“When you cast a man’s son into the sea that separates the realms,” said Loki. “It’s not exactly difficult to cross them.”

The tide was edging forward. Harry squealed with joy as Loki lifted him up to his shoulders. With one hand grasping his tiny feet to keep him steady, Loki held out his other to me. Without looking back, I curled my fingers around his and took my first step into a new life.

**END**


End file.
